The Clockwork of the Universe
by KadenKryptonite
Summary: Clockwork knows the inevitable, including the fact that the most dangerous ghost in existence will be helping him maintain the time stream. When Danny comes seeking Clockwork's assistance, Dan is going to have to deal with the nightmares of his past.
1. Everything is Inevitable

**Clockwork knows the inevitable, including the fact that the most dangerous ghost in existence will be helping him maintain the time stream. When Danny comes seeking Clockwork's assistance, Dan is going to have to deal with the nightmares of his past and some new ones from the future. And just what secrets has the Time Master been keeping? Well, besides the fact that he doesn't wear pants.**

**Pairing(s): Meddling Minutes (Clockwork/Dan) and minor Amethyst Ocean (Danny/Sam).**

**Rating: So far, T. Violence, adult themes, and coarse language.**

"_I cannot imagine how the ___clockwork___ of the universe can exist without a clockmaker." _

-Voltaire (François-Marie Arouet)

-.-.-

_The brat was asking for it._

Curled up next to him, a petite deep purple child's hoodie pulled up concealing the head of messy bright blue hair which would seem strange on any other human child. Although there was something strange about this kid, something that only a few knew while gracing the human world with their presence.

He was a ghost.

Not just any ghost, but _the_ ghost that has existed for millenniums, the ghost that controls the past, present, and the future, the ghost who knows everything which has happened and which will; after all everything is inevitable. The ghost whose name was Clockwork.

You could say that Clockwork had grown fond of the time he spent observing young Danny Fenton, otherwise known as Phantom- Danny Phantom, defender of Amity Park. The time master had been entitled to the task of watching over the boy to be sure he wouldn't grow into his evil self- a ghost, quite unlike the halfa who he originated from. This assigned task seemed redundant to the ghost; after all, he already knew the inevitable.

The inevitable ranging from the obvious such as young Daniel Fenton ending up with one of his best friends- Sam Manson, a girl who knew of his secret from the very start. They spent their time deluding themselves into thinking they didn't have feelings for one another, but Clockwork knew. Just like he knew how he'd have to help young Danny stop himself from ever becoming evil. Just like he knew how he'd be the one tasked with managing the captured Dan Phantom for the rest of his years as the keeper of time, which he knew he would remain for a many millenniums to come.

And just like Clockwork has his powers of time and space manipulation and infinite knowledge, he has a certain ability of manipulating himself and his forms. Switching from a child to an adult to an elder was just something that happened to him as a ghost almost as if his powers were so great they overflow his being, causing them to manipulate his form of their own free will, or it's quite possible that Clockwork controlled the ability himself, just to demonstrate the passing of time and it's inevitably. The time master had another power he had acquired; the ability to appear human or to in the lease, assume human characteristics.

Glaring down at the small child was a well-built tanned man appearing to be in his early to mid-twenties, he wore a black button up shirt and a pair of grey jeans, a strange combination of formal and informal. His eyes were a startling blue against his raven black hair which had been pulled back into a messy ponytail.

There was something strange about this man. Something only a few knew of.

He was a ghost.

Not just any ghost, one of the deadliest ghosts the ghost zone had encountered, a ghost born as the human Daniel Fenton. No longer was this Daniel a half-ghost; he had murdered his human half a long time ago in an alternate timeline. In a timeline where his family and friends were dead and his ghost self had fused together with Vlad Plasmius. Having abandoned the surname 'Fenton' and the childish nickname of 'Danny', Dan Phantom exists outside of time itself.

Dan pulled his arm in close to his side in a futile attempt to get the brat off of him; unfortunately, the boy only leaned in more. He stifled a growl, quite unsuccessfully and pulled out a pack of cigarettes, a habit he'd formed shortly after being given to Clockwork. Pulling out a matchbook, he violently struck the first match, succeeding on the first strike and watched it burst up into flames. Of course he had a variety of lighters, but he preferred to strike a match, more so when irritated. He lit the off-white tobacco filled paper and took a drag, peering down and purposefully blowing the smoke down at the resting child.

Clockwork opened an eye halfway as he inhaled the secondhand smoke. "Put that out." He commanded, his voice taking on a child's tone layered on top of his older confident voice. Dan hated, to say the least, how even in his child's form he seemed so sure of himself and wise. Although, there weren't many things that the Phantom didn't hate.

In his weaker moments, he sometimes found himself enjoying the company of the time master, but that rarely lasted more than a few moments; without his humanity, he fooled himself into believing he didn't have room or use for such emotions.

"Who's going to stop me?" He sneered at the child who only remained silent. Dan grunted and took another drag. "My thoughts exactly." He snubbed the cigarette on the bench anyway, searing the wood.

Unknown to the older-appearing ghost, Clockwork grinned under his hood. An eerie satisfaction soaked into his features; the ghost often enjoyed this role. He clipped his thumbnail under his teeth, a habit formed from his child form. He frowned down at the jagged nail while Dan scoffed.

"Nail biting?" The seemingly older ghost smirked, obviously bemused with the kid's habit. "Something my foolish younger self never got involved in, I'm afraid to say." His tone was mocking; Dan was never pleased when thinking of his younger self and Danny's hero complex. He could almost recall the reasons as to why he behaved in such a way, but such actions of heroism were far beneath him now.

They sat in silent. Dan sneered, waiting for his opportunity to leave and take out a few pitiful humans on his way out. Wreaking havoc was a talent of his that was always a pleasure. A few moments past and he glared down at his keeper who had become quite silent and motionless. Asleep, he assumed.

As cautiously as he could, the man sprang from the bench and took off a fast pace down the walkway. His gait, while quite swift, was slower than to be expected. The ghost had always been arrogant, a trait that could have been inherited from either Phantom or Plasmius.

"_Time Out!" _

The words wrung out sharp, ceasing the movement of all wildlife, plants, people, and most importantly the movement of the older Phantom.

Clockwork dropped his quasi-human appearance, skin shifting back to its ghostly blue, eyes glowing a slightly more vibrant red. On this child form, his hood was up just as it was before, except now it concealed his hair perfectly leaving the color to remain a mystery. He flew up off the ground, feet wispily floating behind him in his ghost tail.

The child pulled a golden medallion out of his pocket and dropped it around Dan's neck. He never seemed to lack a supply of those; it was a convenience the Master of Time was allotted.

Dan scowled at the clockmaker before gripping his medallion with an inquisitive look of distaste.

"What do you think you're doing?" Clockwork asked indifferently, form shifting back into his adult form; his under-eye scar even more prominent than before.

Dan scoffed. "What did it look like? I was going to pay a small visit to my former self; After all, it's not too late for him to become me. A few deaths would be all it'd take for him to become desperate."

Clockwork remained a look of indifference. "Do you really believe that would work? No matter what timeline is selected, Daniel would never risk creating you."

"Are you so sure?" Dan's eyes flashed a dangerous red; a glimpse of what his true self was. "I'd start with his friends- what were their names, again? Oh that's right, Tucker and Sam, the geek and the Goth." His eyes were humorless, only coldly calculating his plan. "Next, I would have to deal with my controlling older sister; she'd be a nuisance if Danny was to consult her."

An unidentified look flashed across the ghost's face as he recalled how Jasmine knew of his secret. He believed that if something had changed, and in this timeline Danny knew, his younger self would surely rely on Jazz in a time of severe distress.

"In a change from my normal approach, I'd give him time to let the deaths of his friends and sister- the only people who knew the truth aside from Masters- sink in. By then, he'd be feeling completely hopeless, I imagine. My parents were complete failures at ghost hunting, and by parents I mean Jack, but as the saying goes, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Dad was always the weakest link." Dan grinned, his blood thirst evident. "Destroying them would be a synch, and then Danny will be broken enough to seek Plasmius out."

"If I must repeat myself, are you so sure of this?" Clockwork questioned, changing into an older man. His frail fingers gripped his staff, his long white beard looking equally brittle.

Lifting an eyebrow, Dan sneered. "Does it really matter? Even if it doesn't succeed, I'll still exist, and Danny will still be miserable, his fragile life crumbled before him."

"You're not after destroying Daniel to create yourself." It was a question, but the way Clockwork so surely 'asked' it, it was evident that is was also not. "You're intelligent; you already are sure of your existence; having him create a second you would cause problems you do not wish to deal with."

Dan raised an eyebrow to Clockwork's implication. "I don't have to explain myself to you," He turned his head away angrily in a way that made him appear quite childish. "And what about you? Why did you even bother to let me out of the thermos?"

"And likewise, I to you."

Clockwork shifted back to his adult form before pressing the button on his staff. "Time in," he called out, directing an unsatisfied look towards Dan, a look which solidified the end of their conversation, and frankly made Dan feel a little wary and a tad miserable.

Even Clockwork thinks he's worth nothing.

The time master looked the man over once, stopping once their eyes met- a glowing red holding the icy blue. He was sure of what he was about to say. His lips slowly and steadily passed the words that needed to be said.

The blue eyes lit up with peaked interested and a smug satisfaction.

Well, maybe not 'nothing.'


	2. Wondering is a Type of Nostalgia

**The first chapters have been edited (finally), so I strongly suggest rereading them as I clarified some things in this one, and in the first chapter I added something that will be a reaccuring theme with Dan.**

**Also as you may have noticed I renamed everything. An alternate title for this chapter which was (unfortunately) too long to fit was: **_For an Omniscient Being, He Sure Does Wonder a Lot._

Clockwork was floating in front of a portal type essence, a looking mirror so to speak, which allowed him to communicate with the Observants. Dressed in red and white cloaks with a large black collars towering over their heads which in reality were just giant eyes, the two Observants were vocalizing their fears to Clockwork about a recent ghost who had been causing trouble in the ghost zone.

"I see." Clockwork said acting in his prized role as an omniscient being. "What would you like me to do about it?"

"Stop him of course." The first one began.

Clockwork shifted into his child form, floating higher off the ground then before due to the height difference. "That will be unnecessary."

"But, Clockwork we see-" the second one continued.

"Exactly. All you do is 'see', yet you do not even begin to comprehend. "Clockwork sighed, crossing his arms. "I will only interfere if it comes down to being necessary."

"Clock-"

"Goodbye." The time master dismissed them, running his staff through the image, breaking the connection effortlessly. He sighed, floating over to where he last left Dan's thermos. Picking up the bent worn-down not-quite-cylindrical-anymore container, he unscrewed the lid letting the blue light release the Phantom from his containment.

"About time." Dan snarled, twisting his neck to the side, sufficiently cracking it. "I get sore in that thing you know."

"I know everything." Was Clockwork's only response, drifting by the man to nowhere in particular.

Dan crossed his arms and tipped his head to the side. "What am I to do now?" He said the syllables together disconnectedly yet they came out smooth, drawing the ending of the last word out briefly.

"The Observants have been causing a fuss about a particular ghost out in the ghost zone. I want you to go out and put a stop to him. Use force only if necessary."

"Force is always necessary." Dan mumbled, cracking his knuckles.

Clockwork shot him a disapproving glance. "I recommend you avoid any serious 'force'. Or would you like to alert the Observants to your existence outside the thermos?" He asked, waving his portal to show a scene of the eyes discussing their most recent concern.

"Fine whatever." He reluctantly agreed. "I'll sit him down for a talk and then we'll have tea and cookies. You know how persuasive I can be."

"I know-"

"I _know_ you know!" He growled in annoyance, hair flaring up in anger.

Clockwork only smirked, continuing to move past the other ghost.

"Why do you even put up with them?" Dan asked curiously, following Clockwork; his hair returned to its normal fiery state. "You're more powerful than them. Powerful beings shouldn't have to listen to inferior beings; hell, you could even _kill_ them if you wanted."

"They may be nosy and at times obnoxious, but they are a necessity to the natural balance of things."

Dan groaned, a sound that came out low like a growl yet didn't hold the common stand-offish tone the Phantom normally possessed. "You and your _'natural balance'_ are irritating." He sighed. "My natural balance consists of killing the people who throw off the balance- _my_ balance."

Clockwork said nothing but instead grinned as Dan continued to rant to himself in a demeaning fashion.

"'-No, Dan, don't kick that puppy. It's too _cute_." He spat the last word. His arms crossed and he pulled a honest-to-god pout, "I hate cute things. Ack! I'm so damn sore. How long have I been in that thermos exactly? I can't help but lose track of time while being shoved into awkward cramped positions."

To be fair to Clockwork, Dan lost track of time often. Now and likewise in the future.

"It's been two months, five days, three minutes and twenty-eight seconds since the last time you've been out. Give or take." Clockwork stated matter-of-factly as if the time he'd been stuck in the thermos wasn't that big of a deal; in his mind, it wasn't.

"It's been that long? You've got to be kidding me!" Dan barked, grabbing the front of the man's cloak roughly. "What took _you_ so freaking long?"

"Simple." Clockwork said, glancing down at Dan's hand fisted in the purple cloth. "I had no need for you."

Startled, Dan shoved the ghost away from him. He didn't need him? Why was that so frustratingly painful for the ghost to hear him say?

_That's easy. He's treating me like a tool. I'm _not_ anybody's plaything._

'_He's not playing with you, Phantom.' _His inner voice cooed at him. '_He's using you for his own purposes- manipulating you, and you're going with it.'_

_Shut up! _Dark growled at the voice. I'm_ the one using _him_._

'_I bet we're not even necessary to him. Maybe this is his way of disposing of you. He's pitting you against these powerful ghosts in hope one of them can take you out.'_

_No. That's not true; he knows I'm one of the strongest ghosts in existence- the strongest one out of all of them. _To be exact, he felt he needed to clarify.

'_He can see all possible outcomes of the future. Maybe he's rooting for one in particular? One in which you don't exist.'_

_No. That can't be._

'_Stop him. Destroy him.'_

Ignoring his inner voice, Dan jumped into the portal which Clockwork had opened. It was the portal that supposedly leads to the so called trouble-making ghost. His mind could wait; it's not like it could go anywhere, and it's not something he could pummel to a green oozing pulp.

Clockwork frowned to himself as he watched the frustrated ghost go. So much for him not using force, Dan was sure to beat this ghost to nothing but ectoplasmic remains with how irritated he just became.

Sometimes, he pointlessly wondered why he ever let the ghost out of the Fenton thermos to begin with.

The master of time already knew the answer to that question, in the grand scheme of things, he needed Dan although he couldn't help but wonder if his release was really a necessity or if he was just being selfish. _No_, Clockwork concluded, _it's good for some people. There's business that has yet to be finished._

He sat down, his tail folded under him as if cross-legged on a cog. His position might have shocked any on-lookers as it appeared to be more normal than how Clockwork appeared. In fact, most people have never seen him sit at all, the only exceptions being the Observants- and Dan.

His thoughts trailed back to that day about a year ago- fourteen months, five days, twenty-three hours, sixteen minutes, and six seconds to be exact. It was so clear it was almost as if he was there again although he could say the same about the American Revolution and really any other event in history.

"_Dan, I have a favor to ask of you." Those calmly spoken words were the beginning, but they could've been the end as Clockwork had well known._

That had been the first time Clockwork had ever released Dan from the thermos, and likewise it could have been the last_._

_Dan had cocked a black eyebrow high up. "I don't take kindly to doing favors- Unless… there's something in it for me perhaps?"_

_Clockwork nodded, knowing he would say that. "Your freedom." A strong bargaining chip, one the ghost couldn't quite afford to give up yet._

"_My freedom, huh?" Dan sneered. "Must be some favor."_

"_I want your assistance in maintaining the timeline." Of course that's what he wanted. What else could Dan offer? Besides death and destruction._

"_Maintaining the timeline? Isn't that _your_ job?" Dan's eyes flashed a bright red, briefly revealing the true monster he was disguising. _

_Clockwork ignored the obvious jab. "You'll help me fulfill any demands the Observants make and in return, I'll release you from the thermos; eventually it'll be permanent, and you'll be free to leave, or come and go as you please."_

"_Eventually? Meaning decades, possibly even centuries from now." Dan orally pondered the thought._

"_It's your choice. The only one I'll offer." Clockwork said bluntly, grasping his staff._

_Dan locked eyes with the ghost a second time. "Fine, I accept your freaking offer." Those red orbs seemed shrouded as if trying hard to hide something, but Clockwork already knew what it is they hid. After all, he knew everything._

A genuine smile crept across his face, unlike his normal smirks or grins. "I wonder when he's going to realize I never told him which ghost he was after."

-.-.-

_There's no turning back now._

Danny thought stubbornly as he hovered in front of Clockwork's citadel. He lingered in front of the entrance, stopping to admire the outside of the ghost building. It was gorgeous and definitely struck him as somewhere the master of time would stay.

The phantom knew that Clockwork would listen to him; he always did, and he even gave him opportunities of assistance, yet the man often knew it would cause something disastrous to happen in the time line.

_Besides,_ Danny thought warily, _I won't be able to find him if he doesn't want to be found._

That was enough of an incentive to convince the boy to move forward through the swirling green atmosphere of the ghost zone and into Clockwork's lair.

-.-.-

_I can't believe him. _Dan thought irately. _He s__ent me after some… overgrown rooster plant. _

Dan briefly recalled that the 'rooster-plant' might have been known as Undergrowth or something plant-related.

During his ten years of terror, he only bothered to associate himself with powerful people who were more than willing to serve under the heal of his boot which limited his alliances to the Fright Knight who strived on serving the one who offers the most power- just like the dog he is.

Therefore, he was only barely familiar with the more powerful ghosts; they were old and smart enough to keep their distance.

Although Clockwork never did enlighten him as to which ghost he was after, it became apparent when the assigned sector of the ghost zone had become overgrown with plants, blocking every path that ever existed there. Dan didn't even give the plant-man time to explain himself as Clockwork had instructed; instead he just blasted the thing and all of its plant minions; it wasn't challenging.

As Dan had guessed, Clockwork wasn't infuriated with him. It didn't take long for him to realize that Clockwork never really showed any emotions except for mild distaste or smug satisfaction.

The ghost peered down at the floor of the castle from where he was lounging in the rafters. He often stayed up there whenever the master of time didn't require his help.

_He looks oddly distressed today. _Dan acknowledged haughtily, watching the other ghost pace below. _Maybe he's waiting for something? I bet those damn Observants plan on dropping in… again._

"Clockwork?" A young voice called out warily beneath him almost startling the man. Dan cocked an eyebrow as he instantly recalled the sound. It was, after all, once his own voice.

_What screw up has he caused now?_ The Phantom grinned, eagerly peering over the side of the beam. Clockwork had forbidden him from going to interfere with the boy, but here is now, coming straight to him. The way Dan glared down now was like a cat eagerly awaiting the mouse to near closer.

"Danny," Clockwork nodded in greeting, waiting for the other to begin to speak. It was another one of the man's traits that Dan disliked. Clockwork treated Danny differently than he did other ghosts, always allowing the boy to begin first. When it came to Dan, he'd never even allow him the opportunity to say what was on his mind, let alone speak first. Clockwork would always just cut him off in an overly superior manner.

"You already know why I'm here, huh?" Danny asked sheepishly, running a hand through his now overgrown hair, held back in a small ponytail.

The man smiled gently. "You do realize it's a terrible idea."

"But-" Danny began, a frown lining his face in an unattractive way. "If I can just go back,"

"It's foolish." Dan snickered quietly to himself; how many times had Clockwork said those same words to him? And as if he could hear the silence of Phantom's not-quite snicker, Clockwork snapped his attention up towards the ghost up in the ceiling.

Danny followed the ghost's gaze up, but he didn't glimpse anything in particular, except for the ceiling support and lots of gears; for the first time, Danny noticed that the inside of the man's citadel resembled the inside of a clock. "What ya looking at?"

"Just a nuisance," Dan narrowed his eyes. He knew Clockwork was taking a jab at him, but he only sneered in response, slinking lower as to be assured his younger self wouldn't be able to see him. "One that I will deal with at a later point."

"Oh… well, so about going back?" Danny smiled hopefully, twiddling his fingers together nervously. His white hair and light skin contrasted against the dark surroundings, making the boy glow more than the average ghost would. He truly was a wonder to the ghost zone.

Thinking about it carefully, Clockwork knew there were only two other ghosts with pale white hair, not including Dan himself.

Clockwork frowned at the boy. "I'm not going to make your decisions for you, but the best I can do is advise you to choose the best option."

The edges of Danny's sheepish smile curved downwards to mimic Clockwork's own frown. "The best option for me or the best for you?" The ghost boy lashed out. "Do you even understand how I feel? I thought this would be cool, having people know about me, but… I hate it! I thought you of all people would understand, but you don't."

"Daniel," Clockwork said his voice uncharacteristically young for the elderly form he'd just assumed. "I understand more than you realize, and I may not always understand why we end up where we may, but it doesn't take much for me to understand what path we _should_ take."

Danny crossed his arms, hovering in the air a bit farther from the ghost then before. "That's exactly my point! You're not supposed to choose which path we 'may or may not' take; you're supposed to just let it happen; after all, sometimes the things that _should_ happen, _don't_."

Dan raised an eyebrow from where he was perched above.

His younger self's logic always had escaped him although he had to agree with the boy's last statement. The things that are supposed to happen, _should_ happen, never really do.

The twenty-four-year-old stared down at the pair, his red eyes watching them carefully. If he learned one thing from his time stuck with the time master, it was how to comprehend the man's logic, more sophisticated than Danny's and more conversant than Vlad's.

"That may be true." Clockwork shrugged him off which was possibly the worst thing he could've done. "But will you deny the fact that I know more than you could ever hope to comprehend? You're only sixteen."

The boy huffed up, and Clockwork couldn't help but notice the resemblance between him and Dan. Danny shared the same look of hurt that Dan often displayed when the time master managed the rare occurrence of getting under his skin. Of course, he's quick to cover it up as Danny displayed now. "So what?" It was childish, but the ghost boy was hurt, and nothing wittier could make its way out.

The ghost before him closed his eyes in a moment of annoyance. "You can be the most insufferable boy I've ever had the displeasure of meeting." He waved his staff in front of the portal, switching it to a scene Danny recalled well.

"Try not to destroy the present." It was a twist on the same line he'd said about two years ago when Danny attempted a task similar to what he planned to do now, but unlike how it was then, Danny already knew what could come from changing the past. It only felt right that Clockwork make an effort to remind him.

Danny grinned foolishly. "Really, Clockwork, you won't regret this!" He zoomed towards the swirling image before him, but right before he could go through, he straightened his legs together and twisted his body up vertically as if he was going to stand which caused the boy to come to a skidding halt. He turned around and looked at the time master. "Thank you."

Clockwork gave the boy a half wave as he continued on into the past. "He's more trouble than he's worth." The man shook his head, letting his form shift back into its adult appearance. "Dan, come down here."

_Dan do this, Dan do that. _The ghost repeated the overused and abused mantra in his head, jumping off the rafter. "If he causes you trouble, I can deal with him; I can deal with him _my_ way." Dan smirked, taunting the man yet clearly wasn't joking.

Clockwork shot him a look that made it obvious what he thought of that idea. "No, but I do have another task for you. I assume you were listening to our conversation?"

"Of course," Dan smirked before what Clockwork was intending registered in his mind. Any trace of a smile, mocking or not, was now gone. "Let me guess, you want me to follow him."

"Of course." Clockwork mimicked with a smirk. "I expect you to remain unseen, unless otherwise needed. Only prevent him from destroying the timeline." The ghost instructed him, holding up his staff as the lengthy white beard disappeared and a younger appearance dominated his features.

"Killing him will prevent that." Dan smirked darkly, stalking towards the portal his younger self had just flown through. The picture still showed Amity Park, the day the 'disasteroid' was about to destroy earth.

"Slaughter is not necessary for this mission." Clockwork informed him bluntly, watching the play through of the events of that day. Dan too watched them intently although Clockwork had never told the ghost exactly what happened; he only understood the basics: the destruction of earth, the counterpart destruction of the ghost zone, the earth needed to be turned intangible, Danny saves the day.

He knew nothing of Danny abandoning his powers, his identity being revealed, or most importantly Vlad's being lost in space, and presumed death.

The time master knew it wouldn't cause a problem for the ghost to know, but he guiltily looked forward to seeing his reaction. There wasn't much amusement in life when you already know everything there is to know.

"Stay hidden, no killing, but maiming is a perfectly valid action. Right? Right." Dan told himself as if to gear up for his newest assignment.

Dan peered over his shoulder and frowned, Clockwork had already started to leave.

"Yes Dan? Is there something you'd like to say?" Clockwork stopped in his tracks, prompting the other ghost to speak.

"Uh, yeah." Dan mumbled awkwardly. "See you when I get back; don't miss me too much."

Clockwork shook his head in mock aversion. "Dan."

"Yeah?" He asked, floating up to eye level with the portal.

"Be-" Clockwork began before changing his direction of speech, "Don't do anything stupid."

Dan snorted. "Me? Do something stupid? Who do you think I am, Danny Phantom?" And with that he flew through into the past, leaving Clockwork only to contemplate the situation some more.

_Of all the possible scenarios, why this one?_

And with that thought, for one rare moment, Clockwork took the moment to abandon his indifferent demeanor and collapse his head in to his gloved hands.


	3. Destruction Does Not Equate to Death

**Finally, I've finished this chapter. I've also edited the previous chapters, so I highly recommend rereading those as I did add more to both of them. ****(And on another note, we now have an epigraph!) **

**There's going to be another author's note at the bottom, so I'll meet you there.**

Clockwork remained like that, with his head resting in two gloved hands for a whole ten seconds.

It was all he could allow himself. Having sadness was a weakness. The time master wasn't allowed to have weaknesses. Only people were allowed to have such weaknesses. Only people were allowed to feel such crippling emotions. Clockwork knew; he knew superior beings of the ghost zone were not and, never would be, people. It's a sacrifice of which he'd long since accepted; if he had weaknesses, they could be easily used against him. He wouldn't be able to protect the little he cared about.

Maybe why that's why he envied Dan so much? Albeit harboring bad emotions and ill intent, it only served to prove that the ghost was indeed once alive; he was still a person. He can have emotions; he can have weakness. Clockwork was never alive; he wasn't a person. He can't have emotions; he can't have weakness.

Danny was about to do something stupid. He was his responsibility; he was supposed to make sure Danny didn't cause trouble. He had to protect the boy, but in this situation, Danny was in danger, and he wasn't lifting a finger to help him. No, that's not right; Danny wasn't in trouble; _Dan_ was.

Why did that have to make his very core ache with fear and immeasurable sadness?

It was because caring was an emotion; it was an emotion wasn't it?

He flipped his hood off and combed his hair back. Dropping his head as he did always tampered with his hair. Clockwork liked having his hair in such a way where it was impossible to tell which way it grew, and incidentally made it impossible for anyone to see due to the fact that it was always pushed back.

He frowned to himself, recalling what he was going to say to Dan moments before the man left. That was careless of him; who knows what that would have caused the phantom to do. Oh yes, that's right; Clockwork knows, and it wouldn't have been very good.

Why did the timeline have to be so confusing and so… dangerous?

He sighed and pulled his hood back up, stepping away from the time screen avec-portal he was staring warmly into. He now had his own problems to deal with.

Problems that namely came in the form of his two favorite Observants.

If Clockwork didn't see everything in advance, they might surely startle him at times. They were certainly quiet and subtle on approaching… until they started speaking.

"_Clockwork!_"

"Yes?" He said turning around to face them.

"_What is the meaning of this?"_

He sighed and lowered his staff. "You're going to have to be more specific; I honestly have no clue what you're referring to." For once this was completely true, and Clockwork was glad Dan wasn't there to hear him say it.

The Observants were powerful; they had to be if they wanted to control the entire Ghost Zone. As they had the power to control Vortex's weather powers, they also were able to restrict Clockwork's own sight. Decisions made by them were often blurry or even blocked completely.

It's not that they didn't trust the time master; it was more of a precaution. The Observants were very cautious by nature. It's part of what made them so obnoxious.

Clockwork was trustworthy, and they knew that. They never would imagine having to restrict certain timelines from his view; albeit they couldn't see different timelines, but they could prevent him from seeing futures concerning certain people which could be fairly disastrous.

"We see a future that shouldn't even be plausible." The first one began. This is how their conversations went: one begins, one continues, one echoes, one finishes.

As if on cue, the second one continued. "A future in which you've been destroyed permanently!"

Clockwork's eyes widened in shock, he believed they were here about Dan. "I know." He turned his gaze towards the looking mirror-slash-portal. There wasn't a timeline showing, but he stared as if there was the most interesting one playing a run-through. "I'm preventing it. Don't worry about it; we wouldn't want you to strain your eye."

He noticed both of them looking rather strained and distressed, and he amended. "Or shall I say your 'eyes'?"

"You surely must be slacking in your duties."

"Surely." The second one echoed.

Clockwork could feel a migraine coming on. "I assure you I'm doing just fine; this will all work out. I've already begun to correct the situation."

"We've never had reason to doubt you, Clockwork. But if we feel you cannot perform your duties accurately enough…

"We will replace you." They stated the last line in unison.

Oh yeah, he definitely had a migraine coming on.

"I have it covered. Please just leave it be for now." Clockwork asked them calmly. The stress was killing him, metaphorically of course. His 'impending doom', Dan, his younger self and his unbeknownst attempt to destroy the timeline, yeah but most importantly Dan.

"We will desist for the time being. Is there anything we can assist you with?" The calmer second one asked. For being annoying, they really did care in their own strange way.

Clockwork nodded, turning around to face them. "You have Vortex back in your possession."

It wasn't a question. Danny had returned Vortex to the Observant High Council after their weather fiasco, but sometime later he escaped again. That's how it worked; he causes trouble, he gets locked up, he escapes, and the next time he causes something disastrous on earth, the cycle repeats itself.

Recently he caused some major weather problems in Japan, including a category five hurricane and temperatures that have reached the highest they've been since 1961. Needless to say, he's been brought back in by the Observants.

"That is correct." The first one stated. He was clearly not happy with the time master at the moment.

"May I see him?"

"Of course." It was an instantaneous response from the Observant who still had his absolute trust in Clockwork.

"But why?" The upset one asked nervously; gaining trust was difficult, losing it was upsettingly easy.

His older appearance dominated his features. "I have something I need to speak to him about. It won't take long."

"Well, I don't see why not." He reluctantly agreed. They knew Clockwork surprisingly well; it was clear when he was hiding something. It was up to them to decide whether or not it was a danger. Naturally some were more skeptical than others.

"I'll be there shortly; inform him of my arrival." Clockwork waved them off. "I have to check on the time stream again."

The two Observants shared a look before teleporting themselves away; he didn't seem to be slacking as accused which only made them wonder what quite happens to cause the man's demise in the future. Seeing the future wasn't nearly as helpful if you couldn't grasp what happens to cause certain things.

Approaching the looking mirror, he shifted back to his adult form.

"How's it going on your end, boys?"

-.-.-

_Where'd that brat go?_

Dan snapped his head around; looking for any indication of where Danny had went, to no avail. He wasn't even entirely sure where he himself was.

Turning around, Dan realized he was in front of the closest thing Amity Park had to fast food.

And he was in full ghost form. _Ugh. I suppose that human disguise does come in handy after all. _Dan thought irately letting two white rings encompass him as he shifted back into his tan-skinned long-haired human look.

He could only hope he didn't stand out too much.

Smoothing down his wrinkled black dress shirt, he looked up at the building with a feral grin. "Ah, the Nasty Burger, still standing." _Déjà vu._

Deciding that Danny may have gone there perhaps looking for his friends, Dan decided to drop in.

Unfortunately, the interior was pretty much the same; it had the same dull colors with the bright red vinyl seats.

He ordered one of the cheapest things off the menu; Dan obviously didn't have the money for anything else, and it was not like he actually wanted anything. He didn't eat that much as a ghost, mainly because he never had the time but also because of a lack of desire, but people normally gawk and write you down on the 'suspicions persons' list if you sit down in a restaurant and not order anything.

Settling into a booth in the back of the small restaurant, he wasn't particularly noticeable. In fact if one glanced quickly and didn't think too much of him, they'd most likely assume him to be a young college student hanging out to work. The Nasty Burger had recently become more popular with students and business men solely for the fact it now offered free Wi-Fi.

Picking at his fries and periodically glancing up and scanning for any sign of Danny or his nerd herd, he practically didn't notice someone slide in the seat across from him.

"Hi there," the black haired girl began, and Dan couldn't help but recall her to be Paulina, the girl he so helplessly crushed after for his adolescent years.

Dan raised an eyebrow. "Go away; I'm busy."

"I'm Paulina." She batted her eyebrows suggestively. She certainly did appear to be much more mature than Dan remembered her; she was probably about seventeen now yet appeared to be able to pass as a lower classman in college.

Dan resisted the urge to scoff; she looked almost as unsatisfying as the portion of food he had in front of him. "You're not going to go away, are you?"

"Nope. Say, you're kind of cute."

Some part of Dan liked the attention she was giving him, some part of Dan wanted the chance to be able to flirt again, some part of Dan wanted to kill her, but most importantly, most of Dan didn't want to flirt with Paulina, and she was distracting him from what he came here to do.

"Say, you're kind of too young for me."

She only seemed to get more interested. "Are you a student at the university? I happen to like older men."

"And I happen to not like jailbait or you for that matter, so scram before I do something you're going to regret." It was probably a good thing Paulina didn't ever eat anything that could possibly ruin her perfect figure or else she might have dared to take one of his fries. Problematically, Dan is possessive, and that would have been the last straw and therefore would have missed what she happened to say next.

"Shouldn't you be chasing after _Inviso-Bill_?" Dan sneered. That was the worst possible name they could have given him, even 'ghost boy' was better than that.

"Do you mean Danny Phantom?" She crossed her arms and huffed. "He's cute and all, but nobody's seen him ever since the Masters' Blasters showed up."

"The Masters' Blasters, who are they?" Dan asked unaware of any of the recent events that had transpired.

Paulina raised an eyebrow. "You really aren't from around here, are you? They're the ghost hunting team the mayor, Vlad Masters, created to fight ghosts." She still wasn't the brightest girl around.

_Plasmius? Holy crap, when did he become the mayor of Amity Park?_

"They've caught so many ghosts that our Phantom just sort of fell off the map; it'd be terrible if something bad happened to him!" Paulina was now distraught. Apparently, she couldn't comprehend that as far as they knew, the ghost boy was _dead_.

There was more to this story than he was getting, and frankly, it was bothering him. Dan slid out of the booth rather gracefully for someone who had none as a teenager. "Do you know where I can find Danny Fenton?"

"Uh, no. Why would I know where that loser is? Just look for the Goth chick and you're bound to find him." Paulina said, also exiting the booth while fetching something out of her handbag.

"Here take this," she said pressing a neatly folded piece of paper into his hand. "If you ever stop chasing after worthless people, give me a call, okay?"

"Whatever." Dan said, pocketing the note. He knew he wouldn't use it, but he had a strange feeling it might come of some use to him.

He quickly left the restaurant, leaving his half-eaten food on the table next to a very confused and awe-struck Paulina. He never understood why girls liked the guys who treated them like crap.

Almost makes him wonder if he should have been nice to her; it might have been over faster, but then Dan remembered that girls were complex and cannot be defined by a minimum of food and sports. Being nice would have only encouraged her and made Dan want to gag- as if the food didn't already.

.-.-.

_I should have just gone to Fenton Works to begin with._ He frowned, looking at the portal in the basement lab obviously noticing its broken state.

_What happened to it?_

_Jack really screwed up this time._ Dan smirked as he held up a framed picture of the previously intact portal, but he didn't really have the time to admire the screw ups by his failure of a father.

Placing the picture back down, he flew up intangibly through the floor above him until he was in the living room. The television was left on once again courtesy of Jack.

"_And now we bring you back to our live broadcasting. The ghost boy, Danny Phantom, has just gone into the 'ghost zone' to retrieve the ghosts necessary for turning the earth intangible._

_We now eagerly and a tad nervously await his return. How is it down there Lance?"_

The image cut away from the female news reporter to Lance who was bundled up and shivering clearly not enjoying the cold. He stood a fair distance away from a huge pole, and huge wasn't an exaggeration.

Dan smirked to himself. Leave it up to Danny and his friends to come up with a totally ridiculous yet successful plan.

Wait… Live broadcasting?

_Crap! It's happening; I have to get down there now._

And what faster way to travel across the globe than through the ghost portal? The Fenton portal was trashed of course, but that wasn't really an issue as Dan could create his own portals; the perks of not being Danny were immense.

Stretching a gloved hand out, he formed a swirling green portal and flew into the ghost zone, careful to remain invisible in his ghost form.

It was chaotic to say the least. Ghosts were everywhere; he couldn't move an inch without bumping into one of them. As if it was a bonus, they were all distressed while seeking refuge from the disasteroid. It would have been a perfect time to cause mayhem if only he wasn't busy trying to save the timeline.

He scoffed. As if he never imagined one day he'd be working for the good of someone besides himself; it was almost enough to make him physically ill.

The roaring of an engine like sound made him look up. Skulker was in a fast pursuit of something… or someone. It was best to follow him. Skulker usually knew what was going on; at a time like this it's quite possible he'd be leading people.

Speeding up, Dan kept in pace with him. He was careful not to get to close, who knew what types of upgrades he had installed to that suit to detect powerful foes.

Alternating speeds was not necessary; Skulker was not a happy camper right now. When Skulker isn't happy, there's only one power level and as guessed, it's max.

He fired a ghost ray ahead of him; it hit its intended target: the plane he'd been following. In the next moments, it ejected whoever had been piloting, and it didn't take much to realize it was obviously Danny. Unfortunately, it was past Danny- complete with a strange skunk stripe in his hair.

He'd have to remember to ask about that.

Glancing around, Dan quickly spotted who he was after. The long-haired slightly older Danny was dropping into the currently unpiloted plane; he had no clue what the kid was up to, but whatever it was, it was something he wasn't supposed to be doing.

And Dan was going to put a stop to it.

-.-.-

Clockwork was glad everything was going as planned so far, except he couldn't help but narrow his eyes while rewatching the excerpt from the Nasty Burger as if it were a television show.

He was picking apart everything Dan had said looking for signs of anything even remotely flirtatious; it was almost enough to make the man forget he had somewhere to be... well, _almost_.

**This was difficult to write. I'm not completely satisfied, but oh well.**

**I have a question for you guys: In the previous chapter, what did you believe Clockwork was going to say to Dan right before he left? **


End file.
